Epa: Higher Speed Limits Could Lead To More Smog

OTHER NEWS TO NOTE - THE NATION

February 10, 1996

WASHINGTON — Faster driving since the repeal of federal highway speed limits may boost smog-producing auto emissions and make it harder for states to meet air quality standards, the Environmental Protection Agency said in a memo that surfaced Friday.

The EPA memo obtained by Reuters said car emissions of nitrogen oxide - a main smog component - would jump at least 5 percent if all states raise their speed limits to 65 mph.

An EPA official said the memo was meant to alert states that if they choose to raise their limits they may have to act to cut pollution from other sources. So far, seven states in the West and Midwest have raised their limits - six of those to 70 or 75 miles per hour.